James W. Curran is professor of epidemiology and dean of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

He attended the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, which fostered his interests in science and the humanities.

Initially drawn to clinical practice, he began a residency program in obstetrics and gynecology and focused on family planning.

[9] Curran was interviewed by Barry Petersen in an early CBS News report on "gay cancer" on June 12, 1982, with Bobbi Campbell, Larry Kramer and Marcus Conant.

He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1993, and he was given the Surgeon General's Medal of Excellence in 1996 and the John Snow Award from the American Public Health Association in 2003.